After Joseph Schooling Follows Suit, Olympian Joscelin Yeo Shares Her Story Of Starting Swimming as A Kid To ‘Not Liking’ it

4x Olympian Joscelin Yeo has agreed to the sudden retirement decision of Joseph Schooling. Yeo, considered one of the greatest swimmers from Singapore, won a whopping 40 gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games. Apart from the Olympics, Yeo also proudly represented her motherland at the Commonwealth and the Asian Games.

However, even after having such a bejeweled portfolio, Yeo shocked the world when she called it quits at just 27 years of age. In what has been an unforeseen coincidence, Joseph Schooling too, has decided to retire at 28. The news immediately brought out the age-old topic of athletes getting burned out in their quest for glory. Sailing on the same ship, Joscelin Yeo has the answers. 

Joscelin Yeo stands in solidarity with Joseph Schooling’s decision to walk away

Joseph Schooling created history when he clinched the gold in the 100m butterfly at the 2016 Olympics. Schooling became Singapore’s first swimmer to boast of an Olympic gold. However, eight years later, Schooling stated that he did not enjoy swimming anymore, which compelled him to retire. While this might come as a surprise for many, Yeo can completely relate. 

Speaking about her side of the story, Yeo pointed out that she started swimming when she was an 10-year-old kid. Since then, Yeo returned to the pools for 17 years straight after which she felt overwhelmed. Speaking about how hard it was to let go, the 4x Olympian opined, “Swimming wasn’t just a job, it was my entire life. It was what I knew and was good at. Mentally and emotionally, it was a safe space. But there was also cognitive dissonance. Deep inside, I knew I couldn’t live that life anymore because what it demanded from me, I lacked the will to do.”  

Yeo also spoke about how new avenues of life like motherhood and entrepreneurship started to interest her more. Thus, such words of empathy would surely do Joseph Schooling a world of good. Recently, Joscelin Yeo added a new feather to her crown as she got inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

Yeo, now 44, is now a glorified Hall of Famer

Being the icon Yeo is, it was only a matter of time before she would be bestowed with this honor. Many were surprised because Yeo became a Hall of Famer after seventeen years of her retirement. However, in what was a happy homecoming for Yeo, she was named as one of the inductees into the Singapore Sport Hall of Fame for the class of 2024. 

A total of eight athletes were awarded the prestigious tag at an auspicious ceremony held in February 2024. Outside her swimming heroics, Yeo was also nominated as a member of the Singapore Parliament for a couple of years, before venturing out into her swimming institute. Her post retirement overtures look to be anything but sleepy.

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